Patent Law

Patent Strategies

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

Year after year, IBM plows ahead filing, and getting, more U.S. patents than anyone: 4,186 gotten last year, the 16th consecutive year leading the patent pack. Samsung came up to number two in 2008, with 3,515. HP has taken a different tack the last few years, and fallen behind in the numbers.

In 2005, HP was number three getting patents. CEO Carly Fiorina departed, and tightwad Mark Hurd stepped in. In 2008, HP was number 10, at 1,424. HP IP VP Kevin Light spins it as "quality over quantity." HP is supposedly "seeking broad patents" going "directly to its main businesses, avoiding the costs of filing patents that may relate to more specific processes." Nothing obvious about broad patents. You betcha. HP is increasingly relying up trade secrets, especially in services. Secret services: "we'd like to help you, but we can't tell you how."

Dave Kappos, IBM patent poobah, said 70% of IBM's patents this year were business methods and software. "The majority of the innovation that goes on in the services industry is really technology." With the recent Bilski and Comiskey decisions devastating patent protection for those areas, IBM may have collected a horde of unenforceable junk patents. Having been confederate to the rabble rousers that agitated the high courts to frenzied stupidity about patentability, IBM is just reaping what it sowed.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on January 18, 2009 (boomark / email).